Lakewood Estate Planning Lawyer

Trusted estate planning lawyers serving Lakewood for over 10 years.

If you live in Lakewood, WA, an estate planning lawyer can help you sort out wills, trusts, and what happens to your assets after you pass. Our firm has spent over a decade drafting these documents for Washington families. We work on a flat-fee basis, which means clients know what they're paying before any work begins. Robert Franco focuses his practice on estate planning and probate matters and founded Eastside Estate Planning over a decade ago. To talk with a Lakewood, WA estate planning lawyer about your situation, contact us today.

Estate Planning Lawyer Lakewood

An estate plan is the set of documents that controls what happens to your money, your home, and your dependents if you become incapacitated or die. For most Lakewood residents, that means a will, a power of attorney, a health care directive, and often a trust of some kind. The combination changes based on family structure, assets, and what you want to accomplish.

People sometimes assume estate planning is only for retirees or people with substantial wealth. It isn't. Washington taxes estates at a much lower threshold than the federal government, which pulls in middle-class families who don't think of themselves as wealthy. A Lakewood, WA estate planning attorney can help reduce that tax exposure, keep your estate out of probate where possible, and put documents in place that actually do what you intended. Without an estate plan in place, Washington's intestacy statutes determine who inherits and in what shares. Those default outcomes rarely line up with what a person would have chosen, especially for blended families or unmarried partners.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Lakewood

Estate planning covers a range of services, and most clients need more than one document. Below are the matters we regularly handle for Lakewood families.

• Wills. Your will controls who inherits your property and who raises your minor children if both parents pass. We draft wills that meet Washington signing and witness requirements, so they hold up if anyone challenges them.
• Revocable Living Trusts. A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate. These work especially well for couples with property in multiple states, parents who want staged distributions to adult children, and families with privacy concerns.
• Irrevocable Trusts. When a client needs asset protection or significant tax planning, an irrevocable trust may be appropriate. These can't be changed easily once signed, which is the tradeoff for the protections they provide.
• Special Needs Trusts. A family member who depends on Medicaid, SSI, or other benefits can't inherit outright without losing eligibility. A special needs trust solves that problem and allows you to provide for them without disrupting their care.
• Powers of Attorney. A power of attorney lets someone you choose handle your financial and legal matters if you can't. We draft documents that go beyond the standard form to address gifting authority, trust management, and digital accounts.
• Health Care Directives. A health care directive tells doctors and family what medical care you do and don't want if you can't speak for yourself. It saves your loved ones from having to guess during the hardest moments.
• Estate Tax Planning. Washington's estate tax catches many families who never thought they'd owe it. Married couples have planning options that use both spouses' exemptions, but those options require setup before the first death.
• Trust Administration. After someone dies with a trust in place, the successor trustee has a job to do. We walk trustees through their duties, the distribution process, and the tax filings that come with it.
• Probate. Some estates can't avoid probate, and Pierce County handles those filings for Lakewood residents. We represent personal representatives from the opening of the estate through final distribution.

Why Choose Eastside Estate Planning for Estate Planning in Lakewood, WA?

Tax Law Training That Shapes Every Plan

Robert Franco has been practicing estate planning law for more than 10 years. After earning his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2013, he went back to school for an LL.M. in Tax Law at the University of Washington in 2018. Few estate planning attorneys have that depth of formal tax training, and it matters in Washington more than in most states because of how the estate tax works here.

Robert is licensed to practice in Washington and serves on the Tax Section of the Washington State Bar Association. He is also a member of the Cardozo Society of Washington State. The tax training informs how the firm structures plans for couples, how it handles retirement account beneficiaries, and how it approaches gifting.

Flat-Fee Billing

Hourly billing creates uncertainty. Clients don't know what the final number will look like, and the meter runs every time they call with a question. We don't work that way. Our flat-fee model puts the price on paper before drafting starts, and we publish our pricing openly so prospective clients can review it before reaching out. Most people find this much easier to plan around than an hourly arrangement.

Understanding Estate Planning Cases

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

A complete plan typically includes several pieces. Each one addresses a specific situation, and missing pieces are what cause problems down the line when families come to us after a loss.

• A last will and testament controls probate assets and names guardians for minor children.
• A revocable living trust holds assets during life, avoids probate at death, and can stage out inheritances over time.
• A durable power of attorney names a financial agent if you lose capacity.
• A health care directive records your medical wishes for incapacity and end-of-life situations.
• A HIPAA authorization gives named individuals the right to access your medical records.
• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance pass outside the will and need to be aligned with the rest of the plan.

Important Aspects in Your Estate Planning Case

Every plan looks different because every family looks different. The questions below tend to drive the design more than the size of the estate. Two clients with identical net worth often end up with completely different documents, and updating a plan after a major life change is often as important as the original drafting.

• Whether you own real estate in more than one state
• Whether you have children from a prior relationship or a blended household
• Whether anyone in your family has special needs, addiction issues, or capacity concerns
• Where your estate sits relative to Washington's estate tax threshold
• Whether you own a business, rental property, or other complex assets
• How you want children's or grandchildren's inheritances structured

Estate Planning Case Timeline

Most clients are surprised by how quickly the process moves once decisions are made. From first meeting to signed documents typically runs a few weeks. Larger or more complicated estates take longer, but the steps stay the same.

• Initial consultation to identify goals and family circumstances
• Review of assets, beneficiary designations, and any existing documents
• Drafting based on the agreed-upon plan
• Review meeting to walk through each document with you
• Signing appointment with the required witnesses and notary
• Funding the trust and retitling assets where applicable

What to Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation

You don't need to prepare extensively for the first meeting. A few items make the conversation more productive.

• A general list of your assets and approximate values
• Current beneficiary designations from retirement accounts and life insurance policies
• Any existing estate planning documents, even older ones
• Names of people you might appoint as executor, trustee, or guardian
• Specific concerns or questions about your family situation

The consultation typically runs about an hour. By the end, you'll have a clear sense of what your plan should include and what it costs. Plans drafted years ago often need updates after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, business sale, or major move. We review existing documents at no extra cost during a consultation and tell you whether a refresh is warranted. Nothing requires a same-day decision, and we want clients to take time with these choices.

Washington Legal Resources for Estate Planning

For Lakewood residents who want to do their own research, several state and federal resources offer reliable starting points. These won't substitute for working with an attorney on your own plan, but they help with general background.

• The Washington State Legislature publishes the Revised Code of Washington online, where state statutes are searchable.
• The Washington Courts self-help center provides general information for residents working through legal matters without representation.
• The Washington Department of Revenue maintains a page covering the state estate tax.
• The IRS estate tax overview explains the federal framework.
• The Washington State Bar Association offers public-facing legal resources and referral information.

Reach Out to Eastside Estate Planning to Schedule a Consultation

We offer free initial consultations and flat-fee pricing on estate planning matters. The first meeting covers your family, your assets, and what you want your plan to accomplish, and you leave with a clear picture of cost and next steps. Contact us when you're ready to begin.